Life Givers
by Courtanie
Summary: Kyle is dragged into a world of sacrifice upon Halloween night and given a gift that wasn't necessarily something he wanted.


The brisk October air was laden with the sounds of children laughing and screaming in momentary fright, with mothers and fathers insisting for pictures or for the kids to call it a night, that they had enough as it was and it was time to go home. The streets were laid out in narrow lines of lights, those lights that were on hovered over smiling adults, handing out their last handfuls of candy to the baskets of those little witches and goblins. Those without said lights had ran out of stock, or were merely not ones for participating in this tradition. The moon was nearly full above the heads of them all though, that constant reminder that the night was still there, that the day had not quite reached its end.

Two teenagers walked along the street of light, watching with gentle smirks as kids ran past them, excitingly chattering to each other about their assorted treats. They exchanged a quick glance, smiling at each other in reminisce of when they were those kids, when nothing in the world mattered to them but how much was in that sack in their hands. Much better times, they remembered fondly.

But those times had given way to more adult like participation in the holiday. That much was clear at the scent of alcohol that leaked out of the taller of the two's breath, the way his blue eyes were glazed over in a bit of a stupor. Still comprehensible, just not quite all there. The smaller had no such troubles, having only gone to the party so his counterpart wouldn't have been alone again. He grimaced, running his tongue along the plastic fangs in his mouth. He groaned, parting his jaw and taking them out, wiping off the spit that followed them off his chin with the sleeve of his suit.

"Dude, why did I decide to be a vampire again?" he remarked in a mumble. "I could've just been...I don't know. A mummy, or some weird Renaissance thing, or-"

"Or a sexy cat," his friend smirked.

He glared at him. "Shut up, Kenny. If I was then I would have had to still wear the fangs, Dumbass."

He chuckled, "True. Ya shoulda been a zombie with me. So much easier," he gestured to his clothing. Kyle looked at the torn hoodie and jeans that the blonde had sacrificed to make his costume, the scraggly stitched marks traced down his face by the hands of his little sister's facepainting kit.

Kyle just shook his head. "You have a short enough supply of clothes as it is. Shouldn't you, ya know, preserve what you have?"

"Hey, it's the one time of the year I get to be whatever I want. Don't stifle me," he replied in a huff. "'Sides, you're the one wearing your good suit."

"Well you kind of sprang this party idea on me at the very last minute," he replied dryly. "I didn't have much time to come up with anything very creative."

"Don't lie," he nudged him with his elbow. "You love wearing that suit. You feel like such a dignified man and you love the way girls compliment how you look in it," he smirked.

"This dignified man is going to shove his shoe up your ass if you don't stop teasing me!" Kyle threatened, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Kenny just chuckled, shaking his head at Kyle's annoyed expression. Kyle sighed, scratching his gloved hand through his curly hair. He looked around a bit, frowning. "Ken where the hell are we?"

"This is the way we came, Dude."

"Yeah and I didn't recognize it then either. Why does your cousin have to live in the fucking ghetto of this town?"

"Because that's my family for ya," he scoffed. "Come on," he jerked his head to the left. "We'll take a short cut back to our side." Kyle followed him as they cut off from the sidewalk through a stretch of someone's yard. He raised his brow as they soon came upon a barred fence with pikes standing along the top.

"...Kenny this is a graveyard."

"Very observant, Kyle," he chuckled. "Come on," he gestured. "This way is shorter. It's too dark to go the long way."

"There's streetlamps, though."

"It's also a bad part of town where people like robbing people like you who wear suits," he raised his brow. "Now come on. And hey, graveyard on Halloween night," he smiled. "It's like, every cliche Halloween story come true."

"Oh lucky us," Kyle scoffed, following him through the gate. They walked further into the site, the dim lights from the front soon dying down into nothing in the distance. "How far is this thing?" Kyle asked, feeling around headstones to keep from running into them.

"Not too much farther," Kenny replied, leading him with his voice. "We'll be back in town 'fore ya know it."

"Hm, I hope so," Kyle muttered quietly, his eyes blindly glancing around. He couldn't see a goddamn thing, all he knew was that Kenny knew the layout of this graveyard a little too much for his own good it seemed. Kyle's foot collided with a low headstone and he cursed as he fell forward and toppled onto the ground. He groaned, picking himself back up and rubbing his arm that had broken his fall.

"Thanks for helping, Douchebagel," Kyle snapped at Kenny. He waited for a response, inwardly cursing when he didn't get one. "Ken?" he called out a little louder. He rolled his eyes. Kenny was trying to scare him. Not gonna work. "Kenny, stop being a fucktard!" he called out. "It's not very funny when the other person is expecting it, ya know!"

Silence. A very eerie, disturbing silence. The knowledge of his location certainly didn't help him much.

"Ken, come on!" he shouted, feeling around the tombstones as he continued trying to make his way forward in the darkness. "This isn't cool, Dude!" He winced as his knee slammed into a piece of stone before turning angles slightly and heading away from it. "Kenny?" He grated his lip in his teeth somewhat angrily. That no good poor ass piece of shit. Deserting him like this. After he gave up his evening doing something he had no longing to do just so the jackass wouldn't be lonely.

His mistake.

Kyle continued fumbling his hands from stone to stone, desperately willing his eyes to adjust already. This was _not_ the time for them to be failing him. "Ken come on," he pled. "Will you just get me back to town? We have school in the morning you assfuck, I don't have time to be here all night!" He listened to his voice echo, clinching his fists and growling. "Fuck you, McCormick!" he shouted. "You dick-fucking, cock-sucking motherfuc-MMPH!" he screeched as something slapped down hard over his mouth. Instinct kicked in right away and forced his body forward, pushing away at the force starting to wrap around and restrain him. He felt himself being pulled into a larger body and panicked at the crushing force of their arm around his waist. His hand flew up and grabbed at the palm over his wrist prying it off angrily.

"The fuck is your problem?" he snarled. "Let me go!" The force holding him back was silent, only the occasional grunt as Kyle thrashed wildly in his hold. "Stop it!" he shouted. This person was too big to be Kenny, he could be in serious fucking trouble. He heard a rustle to his right and looked over, his barely-adjusted vision making out a figure approaching him rapidly. His heart pounded for a moment with hope before the figure grabbed hold of him as well, placing their hand over his mouth and starting to pull him along the graveyard. Kyle struggled, pushing back and kicking all he could at his assaulters, unable to break from their grasp in the slightest. He narrowed his eyes. He wasn't _that_ weak. There was no way in hell these guys couldn't have but a break in their stride as much as he was fighting.

They easily tugged him along, leading him towards a large black silhouette in the night. He furrowed his brow in worry. What was going on? Who the fuck were these people attacking him? And where the living fuck was Kenny? They shoved him up towards the shadowy figure and his foot slammed into concrete. He yelped under the muting hand as he stumbled, easily being held up by the man behind him.

"_Move_," he whispered into Kyle's ear. Kyle's heart skipped a beat. Where was the breath from his lips? Why was the voice so deep, so hidden? He trembled lightly in their hold. He was in a lot of fucking trouble...

They pushed him upwards and Kyle took a deep breath. Steps. They were leading him up into somewhere. This was not good, this was not good at** all**. They finally reached the top of the short-lived flight, though to Kyle it seemed to take forever as his eyes fluttered around helplessly for an escape route. The men brutally forced him up in front of the darkness and the boy let out an involuntary whimper, trying to plant his feet against the stone beneath him. He felt the man in front of him release his grasp on his arm, trying to let the drop of strength work to his advantage. He groaned, wriggling around as his ears caught the sound of a large metal door being unlocked and opening. He felt them pushing him inside towards more darkness and he screamed out for Kenny, his body quaking in panic as he was pushed deeper into the building. A sudden shove to his back from the freakishly strengthened man sent Kyle down onto the ground in a heap, curled up against the cold cement as his head throbbed from the impact.

He groaned, creaking his eyes open when from behind his lids, he could make out the beginning of a light. He looked up slowly at a candle placed in front of him. He placed his arms at the sides of his head, looking up and practically feeling his skin jump at the sight of a hideous mask staring him in the face. Something right out of a fucking voodoo magic movie. Pure black eyes, red and yellow bold stripes going all along with an outlining of frayed feathers poking out along the sides. Perhaps the part that made Kyle's insides curl worst of all: carved teeth along the surface, sprayed with red to look like blood-soaked fangs.

He gulped, sitting up slightly and finding himself unable to break eye contact with that of the mask staring at him with a cocked head. He could hear the man behind it chuckling darkly and backed up along the floor slightly. He caught another candle being lit and turned around, finding another face staring him down, this time in an array of blue and red.

"What..what the fuck are you doing?" he asked, looking around as three more candles were lit, revealing three more masks. He fell back slightly, using the heel of his shoe to try to slowly make his way towards the door. One of the masked men stepped behind him, looking down on him with those dead, wooden eyes and making his jaw tremble.

"D-did Kenny set this up?" he demanded. "If this is a fucking prank then you can go fuck yourselves!"

They were silent a few moments before they started to echo each other in soft laughter until it grew into wave after wave of menacing chuckles echoing througout the area. Kyle bit his lip, looking around at his surroundings and feeling his stomach drop as he realized he was trapped in the mausoleum with these masked freaks. A place of death and despair...for a fucking Halloween prank these fuckers sure knew how to take it too fucking far!

He kept his eye on the door, getting ready to propel himself forward before one of the masked men kneeled down, violently grabbing his wrists and yanking him forward a bit. Kyle screamed in shock and fury all at once, fighting to gain back control.

"_You'll __stay __with __us,_" he whispered, raising his free hand and stroking his finger down the side of Kyle's face.

"Get the fuck away from me, you creep!" Kyle jerked his head back away, completely dumbfounded by the strength that the masked asshole possessed. He kicked at the figure violently, getting nothing more than a swaying motion from him. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU PEOPLE?" he shouted. He was beginning to feel like this was more than a prank. These people, these.._.things,_ they had to have brought him for a reason, right? Either an eloquent prank by the hands of some monster jocks from school or maybe something like-

Kyle stopped mid-thought, his eyes trailing down to the hands of the thing holding him. His eyes widened and his dinner threatened to rise back into his throat as he stared at decayed skin and broken fingernails clutching a hold of him. He could make out pieces of bone and muscle showing along the back of the person's hand and he felt his breath fighting to leave his chest.

"W-what..." he looked at the one holding him, hearing him laughing quietly. He glanced around at the other four as they stared at him. He shrunk down a bit before jerking in surprise at the feeling of coarseness suddenly wrapping around his wrists. His mouth gaped a bit and he tried pulling his arms back as the creature tied rope around him. He kept the boy still with ease, almost methodically tying his arms together in a tight knot before pushing his arms back into himself, standing, and walking back to his candle.

"_Welcome,_" one of them whispered, a harsh, gruff tone in its nearly inaudible voice. _"Welcome __to __our __tomb __of __souls."_

"T-tomb?" Kyle blinked, suddenly any hope of a prank washing off of him at the word.

"_You've __been __chosen_," another with a purple and yellow mask added. "_You__ will __stay __with __us __for __as __long __as __we__ shall __choose."_

"What the HELL are you guys on?" Kyle snapped. He tried turning over before the creature with the red and blue mask stepped over, placing his foot on his chest and pushing him down against the ground on his back. Kyle gulped, laying his head back against the stone and watching the creature cautiously. It tilted his head and he cringed, practically able to feel an icy stare from behind the wooden mask. Its foot pressed down onto his wrists and he groaned, his fingers curling and his body quaking under their foot.

"_Tonight __is __the __night,_" it croaked out, "_the__ night __when __we __feed, __the __night __when __**He**__ takes __you."_

"Feed?" he screeched. "Who is He?"

"_**He **__is__ going __to __be __everything __that __you__ depend__ on_," he hissed. "_**He**__ is __going __to __be __the __one __to __breathe __life __into __you __after __**He **__takes __it __straight __from__ your __beating __heart._" Kyle could just hear the evil grin in his voice and couldn't help but gulp.

He looked to his side as another began to speak, "_Tonight__ is __the __night __where __we __choose __to __feed,_" it stated quietly. "_The __night __where __the __Devil __himself __walks __among__ us __and __just __waits __for __unsuspecting __fools __like __you __to __fall __into __His __hands._" It kneeled down beside of him, stroking a finger up the lapel of his suit. Kyle closed off the crook of his neck to their decaying fingertip, shuddering at the feeling of raw flesh crawling along his own. He creaked open a nervous eye, watching as it raised its other hand, a gleam catching his attention. His jaw dropped at the sight of a mess of claws set along the boney fingertips.

"What...what are you doing..." he asked nervously as he brought down the index finger of said hand and placed it on his cheek. He screamed as soon as it made contact, the feeling an instantaneous burn against his skin. "Stop! Let me go!" he shouted. The creature ignored him, trailing the claw down his face and neck. Kyle groaned, arching up lightly off the ground in searing pain, feeling blood starting to trickle down his cheek. He opened his eyes in a panic as he heard footsteps approaching him. The other four closed in around him, kneeling down and each drawing up their right hands, their claws beaming in the dim candlelight. "N-NO!" he begged before he felt sharp, searing stabs throughout different sections of his body.

He writhed and squirmed, his hands fighting desperately against the rope binding his wrists together. He threw his head back and screamed as they all dug their claws down in through his clothing and deep into his flesh.

"_You__ are __weak_," one commented. "_You __will __make __for __an __excellent __sacrifice._" Kyle's eyes shot open at the word. Sacrifice. No. No. NO!

"LET ME GO, YOU FUCKERS!" Kyle hissed out past an agonized groan. He felt his limbs numbing through his punctures, watched as his vision blurred through tears and pain. He heard fabric tearing, painfully forcing his head to look down to see what was happening. His mouth fumbled for words as he watched them tearing apart his suit. His shirt lied in ribbons against his now blood-coated skin. His slacks were slowly becoming the same way, piece by piece being ripped from his slender, paralyzed legs.

He held back a cry as one of their claws dug into his thigh and drug down to his knee. His leg became a complete wave of shock that rocked throughout his body, his hair standing on end and his heart thudding away like a stampede in his chest. His mind became focused on finding air, on fighting to live. He needed to survive. He had to figure out how to get out of this!

He felt the chill air of the mausoleum wash over him and found himself frozen as they grabbed his arms and pulled them up and over his head. He stared at the ceiling, mouth gaping like a fish, his eyes fixated on the dancing beams from the candles reflecting off the dark overhead.

"_He__ is __mine_," the being in red and blue snarled. "_**He**__ told __us __this, __now __leave __him__ to __me_."

The others did as ordered, removing their claws from Kyle's limp body and backing away from him towards their candles. The red and blue mask stood, circling around him predatorialy, his long robe floating around, brushing over Kyle's arms as he stepped by them. Kyle choked out a whimper, terrified at the fact that he couldn't even _feel_ it.

He needed to scream. He needed help. He needed Kenny to fucking look for him and find him and help him.

After the mask circled him five times he stopped at Kyle's feet, watching and waiting for Kyle's eyes to look down at him. He chuckled lowly at the boy's shaking form before kneeling down behind him, tracing his claws up Kyle's torn thigh. The redhead closed his eyes as he heard low sounds approaching right over top of his head. He turned his face away, creaking his eyes open and coming straight into view of those dead black circles. His heart lept into his throat, his ability to do so much as cry waning, his only thoughts for those of help. For those of surviving this.

The beast put his decomposing palm over Kyle's heart, letting out a low moan from behind his concealment. "_You__ will __be __the __best __one __yet_," he rasped out, running his hand down over Kyle's body. "_**He **__has __big __plans __for __you,__Kyle_." Kyle's body flinched on its own accord at the utterance of his name. They knew him. They were _waiting_ for him. They had been planning this all along.

Kyle winced as the lower half of his body stiffened, his spine locking up uncomfortably. He dared to glance down, a strangled cry of shock and disgust escaping him as he watched the creature pushing in the first two fingers of his left hand into his exposed body. Kyle tried desperately to will his body to move, to run, to fight. Everything on him was nothing but a mess of dead tissue as far as he could tell. He couldn't feel, he couldn't so much as wriggle his fingers much less kick out at the violating creature as he so anxiously wanted to do.

"P-please," he managed to rasp out, his eyes looking into that mask with such pleading, such begging for mercy. He didn't deserve this. He didn't do anything wrong. Why did this 'He' choose him of all people? Why was it trying to take him over? What purpose could he possibly serve in the long run?

He felt a light tingling in his legs and groaned as it quickly cascaded into a feeling of pure fire spreading along his limbs. He managed to shift around a bit before the red and yellow mask appeared over top of him, staring him down until he was backed up as far against the floor as he could manage. The creature reached down, placing his fiery claws at Kyle's collarbone and dragging them up his throat. Kyle groaned, his throat swelling up and his neck becoming locked with his head staring straight forward at the ceiling.

"_Hurry_," he demanded to Red and Blue. "_You__ know __that __**He **__is __more __anxious __for __this __one __than __we._"

Kyle could vaguely feel those decaying fingers wrapping around his legs and pushing them up against his chest. He felt a tear rolling down his cheek, his mind racing helplessly for a solution, completely lost in anger, begging, and prayer. The mask leaned over him once more and he managed out a panicked squeak from his restricted airway before his complete lower back became stiff as a board. The boy felt a rush of heat suddenly invading him, spreading to each of his wounds and making his stiff limbs throb achingly.

His body began sliding along on the stone floor, his eyes still fixated upon the dancing lights hovering above him. He became completely still, knowing he was unable to fight back in the long run; aware that he was at his end. His body ached, his organs screaming at him, his heart thudding so loudly in his chest it was nothing less than an orchestra of timpanis drilling themselves into his ears. Vague feelings of Red and Blue's claws digging into his exposed waist and hip, delving down into his flesh, tearing through the soft muscle tissue like butter.

It didn't hurt, it merely made his body all the stiller. For that and that alone he was thankful. If this was happening to him, he didn't want to be feeling it, he just wanted it over with. A blue and yellow figure came to hover over him, kneeling down beside him and grabbing a hold of his chin, turning his paralyzed neck to look at him straight on. Kyle's stomach lurched as he heard a low laugh erupting from under the wooden face.

"_You __are __quite __the __delicacy,_" he stated, stroking his clawed thumb over his cheek, cutting open the soft skin and watching it pour down his narrow profile. "_**He**__ was __right,__ you __were __worth __the __wait_." Kyle's mind foggily set on that as they continued staring, Red and Blue continuing to thrust into him from behind. How long had they been waiting for him? How long had they been just waiting for him to pass by so they could grab him? Who was the asshole who'd targeted him in the first place? He shut his eyes, feeling the creature wiping off a rogue tear that escaped him.

He forced out a yelp as his body suddenly underwent a series of spasms; his feeling slowly working its way back to him. The lingering, fiery quiver a constant throughout his entire system. More tears began mindlessly spilling down his cheeks. He could clearly feel each and every one of the spots where they tore through his skin. He could make out where his tissue was now torn probably beyond repair, vaguely make out the blood pouring out from him and pooling beneath his captive body. His mind slowly made out the feeling of his back sliding along the concrete floor, of the demon behind him pushing into him; invading him, _feeding _off of his fear.

He could just barely make out the sound of the other four as they all stood, taking their places at their respective candles and murmuring words that even Kyle in his disorientation could tell were anything but English. They were chanting...Kyle's lip trembled, his fingers slowly gaining back their movement as he began clawing down into his palm worriedly. How could people like this even still exist? This was fit for a world way back before his own time. This was set for hundreds to thousands of years ago in a world far different and far more primitive than his own.

So why was he suddenly thrust into the middle of this ritual? What suddenly made this world become his own?

"Nnghn...a-ahh..." he managed to strangle out as the beast's movements became harder, less controlled. His right thigh soon became the victim of more punctured wounds as the creature's hands grasped around him tightly, pushing him up into a tight ball atop the floor as he drove into him. Kyle merely shut his eyes, tears free-falling down his cheeks. He groaned, his back arching slightly off the ground as the man pushed him down as far against the stone as he could manage, driving into him relentlessly until Kyle could hear him let out a groan from behind his mask before his hips shot up on their own accord as Red and Blue finally came to a stop, his claws still knuckle-deep inside of the boy.

Kyle's mouth fell open slightly, everything seeming to topple down on top of him at once. He was completely at their mercy. He didn't have any fight left in him. He whimpered as he felt himself being placed back on the ground, flickering his eyes down to see Red and Blue straightening out his robe, looking at the violated redhead with a cocked mask.

"_Worth__ the __wait_," he repeated. "_We __are __satisfied__ enough_." Red and Yellow reached down under Kyle, picking him up with his rotten arms and walking with the others towards a large stone coffin lying in the back of the mausoleum. He lied the boy down atop the slab and Kyle tensed, his body screaming with agony by then.

They surrounded him around the stone and his heart began racing. "_You __will __be__ given __to__** Him**__,_" one hissed. "_You__ will __fulfill__ the __destiny __that __**He **__so __long __ago __decided __for __you._"

Kyle whimpered, struggling to roll over and try to get out before his bound arms were grabbed and he was forced back into place. He watched as Red and Blue took an old, rustic dagger from beside of him and he let out as much of a scream as he could manage. Red and Yellow pulled him up slightly and another tied a piece of cloth around his eyes. They lied him back down and Kyle's shaking became overly-erratic, unable to control himself.

This couldn't be happening. He couldn't die like this, not at the hands of some fuckers who liked playing God too much for his tastes. He coughed out a cry, able to force out a soft "P-please...do-don't..." The masked creatures merely chuckled, running their hands along his body and keeping him down against the stone table.

"_You__ will__ love __this_," one promised, cupping his chin as Kyle felt the dagger lightly trailing the skin over his heart._"__**He **__will __be __everything __you __need__ in __the __end. __There__ is __no __escaping __**His **__eyes, __you __will __become __**His **__and __only__** His**__."_

"N-NO!" he managed to choke out, sobbing fearfully. He couldn't belong to whatever the fuck was after him. He couldn't! The creatures placed their hand down atop of him, holding him firmly in place.

"_Stay __still,_" one commanded. "_You __will __see. __It __is __better __this __wa-_"

He was cut off by a sound that made Kyle's heart nearly leap out through his chest. The metal door of the mausoleum swung open, crashing into the stone wall behind it and making an earth-shattering clang.

There was a moment of silence before Kenny's voice rang clear through the air, "Kyle?" he shrieked. "The fuck's going on here?"

"_We __are __taking __the __boy,_" one replied calmly. "_He __is __our __blood__ sacrifice __to __please __our __God. __He__ will __keep __our __world __in __balance_."

"K-Kenny..." Kyle stammered out, fidgeting around before the creatures pushed down against him to hold him still.

"Like fucking hell you will!" Kenny shouted out. Kyle's heart leaped hopefully as he heard Kenny rush his way over and a loud crash against the floor. "Get the fuck away from him!" Ken shouted. Kyle could hear struggling and felt the cold hands of the creatures leave him to go help control the situation. Kyle managed to struggle up onto the side of his legs, shaking in his place as he heard loud screams and various crashes onto the stone ground. He tried breaking his arms out of their holding, squirming and whining.

He froze as the crashes came to a half all-too-soon for his liking. A set of footsteps approached him slowly and he gulped, curling up into himself nervously. The blindfold came off his eyes and he looked to find Kenny staring at him with desperate eyes. "Go," he coughed out, helping him down onto the floor. Kyle looked, finding a stab wound leaking through his hoodie up in his chest.

"K-KEN!" he managed to choke out from his still-numbed throat.

"GO," he shouted, pushing Kyle towards the door. "Just go, I'll be fine! Run!" he shoved him again, hissing and clutching his chest. Kyle watched him for a moment before coughing and turning around. He managed to limp over to the mausoleum's door before falling over in the doorway. He groaned, his eyes suddenly blinded once more.

He used his bound arms to help pull himself along, unable to find the strength to get back on his feet. He could feel each heartbeat doing nothing more than pumping more life force out of his weak form. He managed to make it to the steps of the building, tumbling down them when he lost control of his arms and winding up on his side in the cool grass. He let out a sob, trying to push himself up. He stayed on trembling arms for a few moments before collapsing back onto the lawn.

He opened his eyes, staring at the darkness of the night and trying to catch his breath. Too much blood loss...too much pain. His head was spinning, his vision was worsening, even in the blackness surrounding him. He couldn't make it to the town. He couldn't run or hide...He just had to wish that Kenny could protect him until he was found...

Kyle closed his eyes, his shaking calming down slightly as his mind finally caught up with him. He was out of their hands now. Kenny got him out. He was safe. Kyle's breathing turned forced and even, his bound hands clawed into the ground; to remind him he was there. To remind him that he was still alive. He lost all sense of everything, all sounds and feelings faded into a dull hum in his ears.

He lied there, all sense of time lost. All his mind could focus on was he was alive, he was alive. His mind fleeted across when he would be rescued, if he would bleed to death before anyone found him. He could only hope that that wouldn't be the case.

He just stayed there, at the foot of the mausoleum steps, nothing but the cold night air washing over his skin and the damp ground beneath his exposed body. His loss in the quiet of the moment became interrupted when he heard someone step in front of him, kneeling down and brushing his hair back.

He moaned softly and they whispered, "Shhhh."

"H-help..." he tried looking up at them, his body refusing to cooperate in his utter exhaustion.

"Don't worry," they whispered. "I'll protect you from now on."

Kyle's eyes finally creaked open, his comforter's words leaving a very bad taste lingering in the air between them. The calloused fingers caressed over his face before Kyle's heart dropped. Not all the skin was there. He cried out, trying to squirm away before arms grabbed him and pulled him up into the form.

"You'll be safe with me, Kyle," they murmured. Kyle's eyes widened at the sound of their voice. Too familiar. Too familiar for comfort...

"K-Kenny?" he asked breathlessly, his hands clutching at the shirt of the mystery in front of him.

They were silent for a moment before chuckling. He reached up, stroking Kyle's face with his thumb. "Are you scared?"

"...what..what are yo-"

"Shh," he chuckled, leaning down and placing his lips against Kyle's neck, kissing him gently. "This did not happen in vain," he growled in his ear.

Kyle's heart dropped. He brought him here on purpose. He whimpered, trying to push away before Kenny pulled him back in against his chest.

"We needed you tired and broken so you would go easier," he purred, stroking his fingers along his spine.

"Why...why are you..."

"Do you remember when we were kids? We found out my parents were part of that cult, hm? The one that gained me my ability to stay immortal?"

Kyle narrowed his eyes at his words. "I..I don't know what-"

"Yes I figured you didn't," he said, sounding rather irritated at the fact, though his gentle caresses of the boy in his grasp told otherwise. "I've found myself at the threshold of said cult, Kyle," he whispered, Kyle hearing the pride in his tone. "I've become their prophet, so to speak. I've been able to find a way that'll last me into eternity should I want it."

"H-how...how could you..." This was too much for Kyle's aching head.

"Human spirit is strong, you know," he stated simply, playing with Kyle's hair. "They relish in anger, grow so much more powerful when provoked. I'm sure you know that, Kyle. You're a smart kid," he chuckled, rubbing his finger along a gash in his face. "Those boys in there? They feed off of your suffering. They chose which method would best break you down and used it to feed off of your very essence," he placed his hand on the redhead's chest. He chuckled at Kyle's wildly beating heart. "They've never been as sated as they are right now. They've never had the pleasure of feeding off of someone quite so emotionally controlled as you are, Kyle."

Kyle just sat there, shaking, staring at the ground as Kenny continued touching him, filling his head with all these stories that the logical side of himself just couldn't bring himself to believe.

"You...saved...me...," he narrowed his eyes. Why would Kenny have saved him if he wanted him to die in the first place? If he wanted to sate his godforsaken appetite.

"I have plans for you, Kyle," he purred, cupping his chin and forcing him to look up towards his face. Kyle couldn't see worth shit in the darkness but he knew that tone well enough, his skin crawling as his mind put together a perfectly formed imagery of Kenny's evil grin. "You're going to be my...let's say...next in line, though I won't be leaving my throne anytime soon," he chuckled.

"I...I don't...want..."

"You don't get a choice, Kyle," he chuckled. "You're going to live beside me for eternity," he whispered, excitement lingering in his tone. "You're going to be my protégé, so to speak."

"P-protégé?" he blinked.

"I have a very special talent that the others don't. You see, I can only keep us all alive anymore if I have my sacrifices. Well. I can stay going much longer than they can. I'm only just now starting to rot but I'm sure you could just feel how much they were all falling apart, yes?" Kyle was silent. "However, there's something that's a key difference between us. I have the ability to give life, not take it."

"What...what do you mean?" Kyle furrowed his brow confusedly.

Kenny laughed softly. "I can kill only for those people to be brought back to be immortal with me. However, should I choose, I can bestow my gift onto whomever I shall please. You would be the second life giver in our family," he chuckled.

"I..I-I don't want to...to die..."

"Only one day a year do you die," he hissed. "Tonight. But you will not be nearly as bad off as the others. They had a feast on a man before you but they were not nearly satisfied enough. You're lucky that I decided to intervene or else you would have been gone for good." He leaned back, cupping Kyle's chin again. Kyle felt the coolness of a blade placed against his neck and groaned anxiously, trying to lean away before Kenny pulled him back into place.

"Shh," Kenny cooed as Kyle began crying. He leaned forward, kissing his lips softly and pulling back with a moan. "I've chosen you because I know you're the one person I can trust. And I doubt either of us would mind spending eternity by each other's side, yes?" he grinned. Kyle couldn't even think of an argument. He was too terrified, too lost in his own swimming thoughts to even notice the blade slicing cleanly across his throat before he felt the blood dripping down his chest in a cascade of warm rubies.

He choked violently, gasping for air as his body went into convulsive shock. He jerked around violently but Kenny kept a firm hold on him. Kyle's mind dully made note of the strength matching those behind the masks before he found his body shutting down completely. He felt Kenny's arms around him and his lips on his cheek before the world got quiet, his pounding heart finally coming at its end.

* * *

><p>He stood atop a hill with the others, looking down at the small town below them in the glow of the orange, setting sun.<p>

"It's almost time," Kenny stated quietly, looking at him. He knew the first time would be the hardest. It always was. It always would be.

"I doubt he even has the balls to do it," one of them murmured behind them.

"Shut up, Cartman. He'll do fine," Stan said. "We all did just fine and so will he."

The boy looked back behind him at his friend, who shot him a reassuring smile. He cringed at his missing teeth, at his skin already starting to fold down as it began to decay. He took a deep breath, turning and looking at the man beside him. Kenny shot him a smile, leaning down and kissing him softly.

"We picked you out someone easy," he said gently. "And don't forget," he stated, handing him his weapon, "Tweek is going to be back in a few hours when you do this, all right?"

The boy grated his lip between his teeth, nodding softly. He didn't choose this. Hell, none of them did. He knew well enough that Kenny would be done with this in no time flat if he had the option. But he knew he didn't, he didn't want to be lonely.

He could sympathize to an extent after a year of being terrified that he himself was a monster, that the thing looking back in the mirror was nothing but a shell, that this was all nothing but a dream.

As he clutched the dagger in his hand, he looked at the missing sections of skin along his knuckles, how the back of his palm was decayed enough to see the bone.

It would take some getting used to.

He watched as Kenny, Cartman, Stan, Token, and Craig each donned their Voodoo masks, holding his own orange and green one tightly in his hands. This felt wrong. This felt right. He had power, he lacked control of his fate. He looked to see Kenny watching him carefully. He sighed, slipping the mask on over his face, looking at the world through small holes surrounded by pitch black wood.

This was who he was stuck being now. This is the fate that killed him, inside and out. But there's no escaping fate, especially once in the hands of a very lonely immortal boy.

He looked over towards said boy, who grasped and stroked his freehand with his thumb. Kyle watched the gentle gesture carefully as they all watched his fingers tremble before tightening them around the blood-stained dagger, his lips curling up under the mask into a gentle, unreadable smile.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Happy Halloween, Kiddies :3**_


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